Trump signed Take it Down Act into law May 19, 2025. What to know about the “revenge porn” law and Melania Trump, who advocated for it.
Melania Trump pushes for ‘Take It Down Act’
Melania Trump spoke out in favor of legislation that would criminalize the publication of nonconsensual deepfake sexual images.
- Melania Trump championed the “Take it Down Act,” which criminalizes nonconsensual intimate imagery, including deepfake pornography.
- The act mandates tech platforms remove such imagery within 48 hours of being reported.
- Melania Trump has kept a relatively low profile since her husband returned to office but actively lobbied for this bill.
First lady Melania Trump made a rare White House appearance alongside President Donald Trump on May 19 to sign the “Take it Down Act” into law.
Melania Trump has kept a relatively low profile during her husband’s first few months back in office, but has spent time lobbying for the Take it Down Act, which passed Congress with rare bipartisan support. It criminalizes non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including artificial intelligence-created imagery often known as deepfake recent pornography.
“Artificial intelligence and social media are the digital candy for the next generation, sweet, addictive, and engineered to have an impact on the connectivity development of our children,” Melania Trump said at the signing ceremony at the White House. “But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized to shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly.”
Here is what to know about the first lady and the new law she helped champion.
What is the ‘Take it down Act?’
The Take it Down Act criminalizes nonconsensual, explicit images created by artificial intelligence, often known as deepfakes.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, requires technology platforms to remove reported non-consensual sexual imagery within 48 hours, so long as the request is valid.
At the bill signing at the White House Rose Garden, Melania Trump called the law a “national victory” and thanked Elliston Berry for speaking up and advocating for survivors.
Berry was 14 when she was the victim of a nude deepfake that wasn’t removed from Snapchat until Cruz’s Senate office stepped in. Berry has said she went to the authorities about the image, but they told her it was out of their control. (Snapchat said in an April 8 statement it supports the bill.)
“Elliston Berry stood boldly for change — despite the risks posed to her and her family by speaking out and making her voice heard. Elliston, your voice — and the voices of so many like you — made this bill a national priority,” Melania Trump said.
What else has Melania Trump done as first lady?
Outside of advocating for the Take it Down Act, she has only made a handful of public appearances since her husband’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
She spoke at the International Women of Courage Awards, attended Pope Francis’ funeral (the same day as her 55th birthday), helped host the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, and hosted a celebration of military mothers and a stamp unveiling honoring former first lady Barbara Bush.
Donald Trump and model Melania Knauss got married in 2005. They met in 1998, two years after she moved to New York.
Does Melania Trump have a college degree?
No. According to the American Presidency Project, Melania Trump did not complete a degree but attended the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia for one year.
Is Melania Trump an immigrant?
Yes, she was born in Slovenia and moved to the U.S. in 1996. Slovenia is a country in Eastern Europe between Croatia and Austria.
Melania Trump was born as Melanija Knavs but changed her name to Melania Knauss and later Melania Trump.
She is the only first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second first lady born outside the United States. (The first was Louisa Catherine Adams, married to John Quincy Adams, who was president from 1825-1829.)
See photos of Melania Trump before she became first lady, when she met Trump as a young model
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Maria Francis, Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.